Update: Gofundme Winnie February 2025

Well, it is about time we update all our wonderful supporters on our Winnie!

Winnie has been attending St. Nicholas University School of Veterinary Medicine in Dominica since September 2023. We have always known that she was smart and driven and she is making us proud! Winnie has the 2nd highest grade average in her class!!!!! Her current grade average is 94.25% which earned her a well-deserved spot on the Dean's list! Not an easy task for such a difficult course and the fact that she is doing this in another country without her friends and family close by. A sample of her recent grades are 99.5% in histology, 95% in physiology, and 94% in anatomy!!! We could not be more proud! Not only is she doing really well in school, Winnie volunteers at the shelter in Dominica. She continues to prove her love for the animals and demonstrate her passion for learning.

Here are some of the things the Academic Dean had to say about her:

· “an exceptional student"

· “consistently demonstrated outstanding academic performance"

· “a model of excellence in both her studies and extracurricular engagements"

· “unwavering dedication, discipline, and intellectual curiosity"

· “exhibited remarkable leadership skills and a strong commitment to community service"

· “demonstrates teamwork, initiative, and a genuine passion for making a positive impact"

· “involvement in animal welfare activities, showcasing her dedication to meaningful causes"

This is exactly the kind of person the animals of Negril need, wouldn't you agree?

Now the hard part, we need your help.

There have been several bumps in the road along this journey to becoming a veterinarian. Housing has been an issue and Winnie has had to move more than once. She has handled it like a champ but that has been stressful when all her energy needs to go into studying and attending class. Winnie is now in a comfortable living situation so she can stay focused!

The most recent “bump" is that Winnie had to have an emergency appendectomy! In Dominica! All by herself! After days of pain, a visit to the doctor and testing led her to have her appendix out which had burst and was necrotic. She is at home resting, has had her stitches out, and is working to catch up on the schoolwork she missed. We have no doubt that she will recover fully and keep her grades up. However, we were not prepared for the bill we received and the hospital is demanding payment right away. Our focus has been on fundraising money to pay for school but now we also need to include an appeal for assistance to pay this hospital bill ($6370.00 East Caribbean dollars or $3391.51 CAD).

Of course, we still need to continue to raise funds to pay for veterinary school which will be about $90,000 USD in total. It seems like a big task but, with wonderful supporters like ours, and a network of people all over the world, we are confident we can achieve our goal!

Can you please consider donating? Please also share this link with your friends and family. Maybe your vet would consider making a donation? Or your church? Your social club? You never know until you ask. As always, we are grateful to every one member of our village! Our dream to bring a full-time vet to Negril is getting closer but we can only do it with your continued support.

Please donate as much or as little as you can. Please share with your friends and family. There are a variety of ways to donate below:

GoFund Me : https://gofund.me/d09e1696

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/winnieeducationfund

(You must copy and paste this link in another window if you would like to use Paypal.)

Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Negrilspayneuter-clinic

E-Transfer: winnieeducationfund at gmail dot com (can't write addy on gofundme)

Direct to Winnie's NCB Bank in Negril: Please contact me for the information.

NOTE: If you use PayPal, please donate to us as a friend otherwise they charge us a fee for donation. The default selection will be business, you must change this yourself to "friend or family".

Thank you SO much! With Licks and Love, your Negril Spay Neuter Clinic team.

♥ Go Winnie!! ♥

Our Goal: Get Winnie to Vet School in Dominica~May 2023

Negril Spay Neuter Clinic (NSNC) is a little, but mighty, animal clinic in Negril, Jamaica. Our focus is spaying and neutering to reduce the population of unwanted animals, but we also provide veterinary services for the community at reasonable prices. We are run on donations and a village of wonderful volunteers including support and manpower from the JSPCA. We are the only vet service in Negril and currently can only provide those services 1 day per week.

One of the valuable team members is Winnie (Hazelline Brown). She is a 21-year-old Jamaican who started as a volunteer but quickly proved she was worthy of employee status and she was hired! This young woman is dedicated, fearless, caring, devoted to animals of all kinds, trustworthy, and smart, and brings her positive attitude and sense of humour with her. She now runs the clinic when our fearless leader, Debbie Lightheart, is unavailable and she does a fantastic job! Winnie has already graduated from college and has an Associate Degree in General Agriculture. So, what’s next for this outstanding young Jamaican woman? Keep reading.

Our goal is to have a full-time Jamaican veterinarian in Negril and, even better, a woman! This would be our dream, but also a fantastic upgrade for Negril as we are currently “stealing” staff from the JSPCA in Montego Bay 1 day per week.

So now we are asking for your help.

We want to put Winnie through veterinary school. She is doing her part – working hard, saving her money, applying herself, and getting fantastic grades in high school and college – and now she has been ACCEPTED to St. Nicholas University School of Veterinary Medicine in Dominica! She has done such an excellent job of applying herself, that the university has given her a break on some of the tuition, citing her determination, compassion, and hard work! Way to go Winnie! We couldn’t be prouder!

Now the hard part. Paying for the tuition, airfare, laptop, uniforms, and boarding. This is going to cost about USD 90,000.00 for the 5-year, 13-term course. It sounds like a lot of money but, that is 1000 supporters paying $90 each.

For now, our focus is the first year, or USD 15,000.00.

Please donate as much or as little as you can. Please share with your friends and family. There are a variety of ways to donate below:

GoFund Me : https://gofund.me/d09e1696

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/winnieeducationfund (You must copy and paste this link in another window if you would like to use Paypal.)

Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Negrilspayneuter-clinic

E-Transfer: winnieeducationfund at gmail dot com (can't write addy on gofundme)

Direct to Winnie's NCB Bank in Negril: Please contact me for the information.

NOTE: If you use PayPal, please donate to us as a friend otherwise they charge us a fee for donation. The default selection will be business, you must change this yourself to "friend or family".